Social Media Guidelines for Hunters

[Jauwater]

There is certainly alot of ignorance on the topic of hunting out there amongst non hunters, but alot of times the ignorance is so strong I have to question how someone can get so upset over something they must of been told, or somehow conjured up on their own with obviously absolutely no research done on their part at all. And ask myself, should I be changing anything I do because of someones willingness to be upset over something they know nothing of, and aren't willing to research at all? And also, am I really changing this persons view by educating them or changing what I do to appease them or am I just wasting my time? I've met people like that a few times. Kinda like the lady @robby denning was mentioning that she thought they just left the meat on the mountain. Which to me seems like a completely irrational thought whether your a non hunter or not. Seems like someone trying to be offended to me. And then when you explain hunting to these people, and educate them, or prove them wrong (how ever you wanna see it) then they want the debate to end. Just like listening to people debate politics, nobody ever changes anybodys mind. Some times people just get proven wrong, and look to bow out just to research their narrative better for the next debate, so they dont get offended by their ignorance. I don't believe you'll ever make hunting look positive to non hunters on social media. I think it will be a futile effort. Sure, by cleaning up your pics you'll make some of the offended happy your doing as they've demanded, and falling in line. But then you got all the other offended that aren't quite satisfied, so they demand the next action you'll need to take, and so on, and so on. I do believe you have people that just have bleeding hearts for animals, and their feelings are purely that, non political at all. But I also believe most everything is political, and that's hunting biggest problem. I think hunting is seen mostly as a conservative sport so many bad things are said about hunting ethics, and the people within the sport. I understand how dead animal pics are ammunition for these types of people. But even if you took away the pics, and videos all together that's not gonna stop the hating on hunting. They'll find something else to be offended about. Will doing everything you can do to appease non hunters keep hunting around a little longer? Sure, maybe.

I already live my life caring for all people around me. Showing love, and respect to those who greet me in the same manner. Showing common courtesy to all people I come in contact with. I feel like that should be enough for me to do what I enjoy (hunting) and as long as I'm doing it completely within my legal rights, I'll never change anything I do because of someone else's ignorance. Because I don't believe most non hunters care to be educated on the matter. I just think killing anything makes people feel a certain way. And that's when the politics start.

Maybe I am just being Mr Obvious here, and pointing out all the hurdles in accomplishing the task. I respect everyones right, and willingness to try, but I'd try my best to not lose any sleep at night over it.

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[mattpobrien4]

Hi, I am matt, newbie

 

[.204smokechaser]

I’ve stopped posting pictures on the gram that show where I’m fishing or even shed hunting at. This year was the first time I’ve posted a picture of myself with a dead big game animal on social media and rarely post hunting related pictures.

A while back when some people were starting their group, one reached out to me asking for information on elk in an area, they learned quickly of my displeasure when they posted a video of that hunt shortly after. Now they have 10’s of thousands of followers and limit the background they show in their videos and pictures.

I think it’s good to promote hunting, fishing, and all outdoor hobbies but responsibly. I’m really going to get my social media idea started this spring around the ethics everyone should follow or learn if they want to see the nations forests and grasslands taken care of.

 

[Fatcamp]

This is the only place I post hunting information but I'm thinking of changing that. I have a pretty wide circle and over the last couple of years have answered quite a few questions on why and how we hunt.

My plan:

1) As the hunt goes on post pictures of us, kids, dog, stuff. Make it clear what a family event it is and how much we all enjoy our time in the field. Glassing, stalks, breaks, landscape. I take all those and should share them.

2) Kill picks to not glamorize the death. No blood, beautiful landscape, posed with everyone in the picture.

3) Butchering from a distance. I want to show how carefully we treat the meat, but there is no benefit to closeups of in field butchering.

4) Processing. We process our own deer and will show it. A clean, organized kitchen with a family involved will show how this is our food and something we value highly.

5) Cooking. Showing well prepared and eye catching meals of home grown vegetables and family harvested meat will make very clear that this isn't just some lazy attempt to murder animals but an ethical and healthy part of our lives.

We shall see how it goes.

 

[KurtR]

A couple of things that irk me as a hunter, so I know they irk nonhunters:

1) "got it done today" like you just finished a job; "dirt nap", "busted em", "slayed em", "lead poisoning" etc. this is number one with me. Nothing could turn someone vegan faster than this.
2) Talking about how long and hard your season has been. "It's been a long hard season but I finally got it done". Im literally scrolling through my FB posts and I see these post almost daily in between all the prayer chain posts for people having a long hard fight with cancer. I mean, come on. Recent example is a young video hunter I'm friends with shot his second big buck of the year and complained about how tough of a year it had been for him / after he has shown pictures of every day of his hunts for the past three weeks. Meanwhile I'm at home with three kids just hoping to get to hunt one day this week. And these people are posting like every one of their friends cares. We are all sitting on bean bags eating Cheetos waiting to see what big buck slayer did today lol. Another example was Jeff Danker recently posted similarly. Jeff is a good Christian guy but he hunts for a living for crying out loud. Don't ever complain about how long and tough your season has been. Unless you are in the company of only hunters who won't take it out of context.

Why do they need to hide or not say what they want because you are jealous that they hunt for a living? For some they did just a job done.

Nothing you posted is anything that is on the lines of riding animals putting duck bills in mouths or any of that dumb stuff that needs to never see the light of day

What drives me up the wall is the fake emotion like your at a funeral . Damn it’s ok to smile and be happy. It’s easy to see the staged on a bended knee tear dropping from an eye staged picture from a mile a way.

 

[Pdzoller]

Show more of the love we all feel for the natural world. Most of us love the hunt but don’t actually enjoy killing. We genuinely care for the animals we harvest just as a farmer cares for the life of the livestock they raise. We hunt for many reasons and should try to portray the intimacy with the outdoors, respect for our quarry, and the feeling of being in the presence of majesty. I think most hunters feel joy and regret in equal measure after a successful harvest but it isn’t “manly” to express this so it doesn’t usually get brought up.

The animals are a part of us that we love so we should post pictures with the respect that is due.

 

[Plainsman79]

As mentioned showing gratitude towards the animal, the process it takes to achieve your goal, and God for creating such amazing creatures. I enjoy short stories of how the scouting and hunt took place. Good pictures, clean up the blood, tongue in.

Don’t share any specifics of the unit, county, or area. I’m even leery of giving out the State. Even if the hunter has no intentions of returning, more than likely someone else hunts the area. Have respect for our fellow sportsman. Most people have seen how social media negatively effects hunting pressure and tag availability.

Any chance you’ll include a couple stories about when it didn’t come together on a big buck and how you kept pushing forward? It’s no secret 9/10 it doesn’t work out. A miss, blown stalk, bad decision or bad shot are part of hunting. Dealing with all the negative emotions is the real deal when you have your heart set on something and it doesn’t happen.

 

[cnelk]

My #1 pet peeve when I see SM hunting pics is the tongue hanging out of the animals mouth.

 

[fatlander]

My #1 pet peeve when I see SM hunting pics is the tongue hanging out of the animals mouth.

This. Cut its tongue off if you have to. Wipe the blood off its face.

And for God’s sake, don’t ride it.


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[Btaylor]

you harvest crops, not animals

Hunting is not a freaking sport either. I go into the woods with the intent to kill, it's not a game.

 

[svivian]

If you are hunting private land don't lie and say you are hunting public on social media. Also we all need to quit dogging on private land hunters and making DIY Public land hunting some noble venture.

When guys post pictures of huge bucks or bulls they shot on private and post it as public it sets unrealistic expectations for newer hunters. It also causes a craze of new hunters hitting public land chasing one for themselves.

Its perfectly fine to pay to hunt private land, hell I support it as it spreads the hunting pressure out. People are so quick to bash someone and say the animal they harvested wasn't earned. (I use to be one of the bashers, those damn primos guys always hunting private .) It would be great to open up opportunities to hunt private land and add more access for hunters and anglers through positive support.

So be honest when you post something and don't bash someone in the comments because they private land hunt.

Lastly, if you take a pic clean the animal up. Wipe the blood off its face, put its tongue in its mouth and take a respectable picture that's about the animal you harvested. Its not about the gun you used, or the pack you carried, or even yourself in that moment.

 

[robby denning]

We are all sitting on bean bags eating Cheetos waiting to see what big buck slayer did today lol.

dang that’s funny!

Agree with the rest of your post too. Hunting hard isn’t same as fighting cancer

I mention how long a hunt was to keep it in reality.

 

[robby denning]

@robby denning

Great topic Sir! Overall, this place is well policed. I can't think of anyone who has lasted longer than they should have.

Assuming we are talking about our own forum, I would suggest you enforce the already established rules as is with the following additions:

If someone is warned or banned, it would be nice to know what the offense was and actually see the warning. IMO, it can be embarrassing to someone to be publicly warned about behavior. Obviously, it would be your discretion, but embarrassment, or the threat of, has been a powerful tool my wife and I have used with teenagers and had been a very large deterrent.

Posts should be real and should discuss the wounding of animals. Specific details and gore should be carefully included. Something educational we can all learn from should never be excluded. There is always a tasteful way these situations can be discussed.

I like the grip and grin photos, but would also like to see more pics with stories of perseverance and hard work leading to success than just the result.

Maybe a sticky where there are important links to petitions or causes we can get involved in to raise awareness.

I would like to see the reality of hunting here with adult discretion exercised.

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Yes I was talking about all social media, not just here. Good discussions have differentiated our forum from open places with nonhunters like Instagram and Facebook.

So what we’re talking about is thinking about where you’re posting and who your audience is.

On banning, We rarely talk much about people after we ban them. At least I don’t. I just need people to follow the posted rules, if you go through our forum rules, posted at the top of the Forum, that’s what people are getting banned for. Lately it’s been the name-calling that’s got a lot of people banned. Name calling incites tempers, and is childish, and always derails good debate

And also, if people are just bitching and moaning constantly and bringing the place down, we warn them or suggest they leave. If the pattern continues, we eventually help them leave.

I banned someone yesterday (called someone a prick), it was his first offense, so I just gave him a 10 day ban. If that person comes back with the same attitude, ban will be permanent.
#forumlife

Thanks for participating in this discussion

 

[Marble]

Yes I was talking about all social media, not just here. Good discussions have differentiated our forum from open places with nonhunters like Instagram and Facebook.

So what we’re talking about is thinking about where you’re posting and who your audience is.

On banning, We rarely talk much about people after we ban them. At least I don’t. I just need people to follow the posted rules, if you go through our forum rules, posted at the top of the Forum, that’s what people are getting banned for. Lately it’s been the name-calling that’s got a lot of people banned. Name calling incites tempers, and is childish, and always derails good debate

And also, if people are just bitching and moaning constantly and bringing the place down, we warn them or suggest they leave. If the pattern continues, we eventually help them leave.

I banned someone yesterday (called someone a prick), it was his first offense, so I just gave him a 10 day ban. If that person comes back with the same attitude, ban will be permanent.
#forumlife

Thanks for participating in this discussion

Thank you and whoever else has to police stuff here. It must be exhausting at times. You guys do a fine job keeping our discussions out of the gutter.


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[robby denning]

Thank you and whoever else has to police stuff here. It must be exhausting at times. You guys do a fine job keeping our discussions out of the gutter.


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[Carr5vols]

Agree with what has been said: No Weapons in the pic, clean up animal are my biggest two.

Just so everyone realizes there is enough tech out now where if you post a video or pic with two mountains, or a mountain and a road, or a moutain and a river people will locate it. I have recently used it to locate where some guys where killing auodad (OTC uit)in NM based on a road and a city i could see in the background of there video that was miles away. I also use it when hikers load up photos they love amazing animal shots with majestic backgorunds, so do realtors...both these groups do a lot of prescouting ofr me without even knowing it. Most recently a guys kid was loading up tons of videos of his bear, turkeys, and deer he was feeding. Within 5 minutes i had located where his footage was coming from based on a barn and a field. Granted i did have a 400 square mile area to start from but the tech is getting amazing. Then i realized i could hunt public within 50 yds of his video camera footage...

Saying all of this to say dont show any mountains or features in your pics unless you want "your spot" found.

 

[robby denning]

…

Any chance you’ll include a couple stories about when it didn’t come together on a big buck and how you kept pushing forward? It’s no secret 9/10 it doesn’t work out. A miss, blown stalk, bad decision or bad shot are part of hunting. Dealing with all the negative emotions is the real deal when you have your heart set on something and it doesn’t happen.

I think you’re going to be very happy. I included at least three hunts with no punched tag, and all the emotion that ensued… and as I wrote those stories, I realized they were some of my most memorable hunts.

 

[robby denning]

Hunting is not a freaking sport either. I go into the woods with the intent to kill, it's not a game.

Good point. I’ve never liked the word “sport“ attached to hunting. We understand what it means, but non-hunters don’t. Makes it simply sound like killing for killing’s sake.

 

[bowieknife50]

Hound hunters have a special need to be careful about what they post. Sure, show pictures with the dogs next to harvested animal. Absolutely show kids leading puppies through the woods. Talk about how many thousand hours you spent in the woods with that dog before he put something in a tree for you. At no time should you ever post dogs working over an animal, even if it's dead.

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[svivian]

Good point. I’ve never liked the word “sport“ attached to hunting. We understand what it means, but non-hunters don’t. Makes it simply sound like killing for killing’s sake.

Agreed, it makes it sound like a hobby while it is really a way for all of us to put quality food on the table for our families.